Love Me Some Cowboy

by Lisa Mondello

  Sam nodded, his eyes dark as he gazed into hers. “She agreed to have the child when I said I’d take care of all expenses and raise it myself.”

  Lisa swallowed hard. Would things have been different if she’d come home last Thanksgiving? Her parents had urged her to bring Joey to share a family celebration. She’d stubbornly refused.

  “That baby will need a mother, Lisa. Think about it, won’t you? I’m still crazy about you.”

  “You want a mother for your new baby.”

  “And a mother for Joey. And a family. You know I didn’t have much growing up. Wouldn’t you like for our son to have a mother and father living together? He’ll have a little brother or sister soon. Wouldn’t it be better for them to grow up together? Making memories, setting traditions?”

  It was what she’d wanted. Could she take it without love? Find it in her heart to love a child that wasn’t her own?

  But was Sam’s.

  The hurt threatened to drown her.

  “Just think about it, Lisa. Will you?”

  “It’ll be hard to not think about it,” she said with some asperity. She’d done nothing all week except think about Sam and Margot and Joey. And the new baby.

  And lie in bed nights remembering Houston, and all the other nights they’d shared together. Longing for that closeness, that feeling of connectedness, of belonging. Could she marry for that? Would it be enough for the long years ahead?

  “Come on, I’ll take you to your parents. Unless you want to stop somewhere for lunch?”

  She shook her head.

  “You might still be in time for dessert at your folks.”

  The short drive was accomplished in silence. Sam pulled to a stop in front of the Ballentine’s house and looked at her.

  “Can I see you this week?”

  “I don’t think so,” Lisa said, fiddling with the shoulder strap of her bag.

  Just then her mother ran out of the house and up to the car, her eyes worried.

  Lisa opened the door. “Mom?”

  “Do you have Joey?” she asked in agitation.

  Lisa’s heart skipped a beat. “Joey? He went home with you and Dad.”

  “He’s gone. Your father's out looking for him, as well as the neighbors. I hoped maybe you’d found him.” She looked frantically around. “I don’t know where he went. Or why.”

  Sam got out of the truck and came around to Margaret. Gently taking her shoulders he turned her to face him.

  “Tell us what you do know,” he said firmly. Lisa bumped his arm trying to get closer.

  “When did he leave, Mom?”

  “We got home from church and he changed into shorts. Then he asked to go to the creek. We said no, we had to eat lunch. I was in the kitchen preparing the meal and your father was on the front porch reading the paper. You know how he likes to do that in the nice weather. We thought Joey was playing in his room. When I called him for lunch, he wasn’t there. We searched everywhere. I don’t think he’s hiding, I think he’s gone off.”

  “To the creek,” Sam said, looking down the street.

  “He couldn’t do that. The creek's on the ranch property, miles from here,” Lisa said. Panic threatened. She had to do something. Her little boy was missing! Wandering who knew where!

  “A kid wouldn’t have any concept of distance.”

  “We’ve got to find him!”

  “We will, honey. We will. Margaret, which direction did George take?”

  “He and Ben Lattimore went that way,” she pointed down the street. “Bud Hazelwood and Thomas Ayers went that way.” She pointed in the opposite direction. “I’m so sorry. I never would have left him alone for a second if I’d thought he’d do something like this.”

  “It’s not your fault, Mom,” Lisa said, impatient to be off. “Joey should know better. He’s probably feeling a lot more adventuresome now after spending so much time on the ranch.”

  “Lisa, stay with your mom. I’ll have a look and see what I can find. There’s no way he could get through the back yard, is there? I could try that direction, rather than just follow where the others are searching.”

  “There’s the old gate. But I don’t think he could reach the latch,” Lisa said, already starting to run to the back yard. Sam right beside her.

  “What gate?”

  “We used it as kids. It opens on to a field. Sally and I played there lots when we were little. It was the wild open spaces for us. But I don’t think--”

  They came to the section of fencing where a gate stood opened ten inches or more.

  Lisa yanked it wider and dashed through, scanning the area. A wide open field stretched several acres in front of her. A thick copse of trees grew in the distance to the left and a rocky rough terrain to the right marked the edge of an arroyo. The deep ditch had been carved from the ground over the years by flash floods. The field was lush with fresh spring grass and wildflowers. No sign of a little boy could be seen.

  “Looks like he might have gone this way,” Sam said, kneeling down to study the grass. “See the path of bent grass? Someone or something came through here not too long ago.”

  “Someone? Do you think he was kidnapped?”

  “No, I think he wandered off searching for the creek. He talked about it all week.” Sam rose and looked at Lisa. “We didn’t get our picnic last Saturday and I think it meant more to him than we thought.”

  “We’ve got to find him, Sam,” she said urgently, starting across the field. He caught her arm.

  “Wait a minute. Stay with your mom. I’ll bring him home if he went this way.”

  “I’m going.” She shrugged free and resumed walking briskly.

  “Your shoes won’t hold up,” he warned as he began to follow the direction of the faint tracks.

  “Then I’ll walk barefooted,” she snapped. She wasn’t going to let a pair of sandals keep her from searching for her baby.

  They walked in silence across the field. The faint trail Sam was able to follow rambled, heading toward the rocks, but never in a straight direction.

  Lisa’s heart froze in fear. She couldn’t lose her son, her precious Joey. She loved him. He had to be all right.

  Sam looked over and reached out a hand. Gratefully, she gripped it tightly with one of her own. His calmness in the face of the possible tragedy was reassuring. His hand a comfort and lifeline.

  “Joey!” he called. They waited for a moment, Lisa holding her breath to hear better. Nothing but the soft sound of the wind in the long grass.

  “If he went to the rocks, he could have fallen down the hillside and hit his head,” Lisa said, wanting to run, but knowing she’d do better if they followed Joey’s tracks. No sense getting to the edge of the arroyo if he’d veered left or right.

  “He’s pretty smart for a little guy,” Sam said. They found a patch of clover, where a bunch of flowers lay scattered. Sam pointed to them. “He stopped to pick some, then decided to let them lay. Wonder what he was thinking?”

  “We made a clover flower chain once, maybe he thought he could do it and when he couldn’t he gave up.” Lisa said, more for something to do than that it mattered. “Joey!” she called.

  They reached the edge of the bluff and looked left and right. In the distance a small figure was sitting on the edge, feet dangling over.

  “Joey!” Lisa began to run. In only seconds, she was close.

  Sam reached out and stopped her.

  “Joey?” he said calmly, his arm a tight band around Lisa’s waist.

  “Let me to go him.”

  “No, the edge looks insubstantial. Your additional weight could cause it to break away.”

  She took a shaky breath and examined the terrain. Sam was right. From their angle she could see the lower part of the bluff had been undercut in a recent storm. It would be a long fall if the edge gave way.

  “Joey?”

  “Hi Mommy, Daddy. I camed to the creek. But there’s no water.”

  “This isn’t our creek,
son,” Sam said calmly. “Come on back with us and we’ll go to the creek. The one on the ranch has water.”

  “Can Mommy come, too?”

  “Of course,” Lisa said. “We’ll have fun. Come away from the edge now, baby.”

  “I’m not a baby!” Joey stood and glared at his mother. “I’m big. Ask Daddy.”

  “Yes, you are. Come on now and we’ll go to the creek.”

  “Okay.” He turned to fling a stone as far out as he could, the movement crumbling the edge.

  “Watch out!” Lisa called, startling the little boy. The earth began to shift.

  Sam darted forward, reaching Joey just as a section gave way and slid down into the gully.

  “Sam!” Lisa stared in horror as both her son and husband disappeared.

  Caution reigned. She eased toward the edge, peering over to see if they were all right. It was a twenty foot drop to the bottom. The ground seemed to move beneath her feet and she quickly moved back. Going up a few yards to where the edge was more sturdy, she looked over again.

  Joey was held against Sam’s chest, moving and struggling to get up. Sam wasn’t moving at all.

  “Joey, are you two okay?” she called down.

  “Daddy’s sleeping,” Joey said, scrambling to his feet. “And I got an owie on my leg.”

  Lisa saw him examine his leg, sure it was scraped from their fall. Why wasn’t Sam moving?

  Her heart caught. “Sam?”

  “He’s sleeping mommy. Can we go to the creek now?” Joey called up. He seemed so tiny on the floor of the wide arroyo. But she could tell he was fine. It was Sam she worried about.

  Eying the edge, she didn’t find a place that offered a trail to the bottom. The sheer rock-studded wall was impenetrable.

  “Mommy, Daddy’s bleeding!” Joey called up after trying to wake Sam.

  Panic flared anew. He’d hit his head in the fall. Oh, God, Lisa thought, don’t let him be dead. Not with all that was still between them. Not before she’d had a chance to tell him that she loved him!

  Love?

  “Gee, your timing stinks as usual,” she murmured as the full realization of her feelings swept through her. She loved Sam. Had from the first. Separated by time and distance had not erased that love. Even knowing about the new baby hadn’t extinguished it.

  She loved him and now she was afraid she wouldn’t get the chance to tell him.

  “Joey, I can’t come down. I have to go to grandpa to get help. Can you stay with Daddy?”

  “Okay Mommy. Guess what? There’s water here after all.”

  “Water?” Lisa looked closely. There was a small stream in the center of the arroyo. Looking toward the mountains, she noticed the storm clouds. If they got too much rain in the mountains, this arroyo could fill with water. Flash floods weren’t the only kind of runoff, a steady rise from a distant storm could threaten to drown her family if they didn’t get to higher ground.

  “If the water gets higher, Joey, climb up as high as you can,” Lisa called, fear beating in her heart. She didn’t want to leave, but she couldn’t do anything herself. She had to have help.

  “Mommy loves you,” she called.

  Joey smiled and waved. He plopped down beside Sam and patted his arm.

  “I’ll be as quick as I can, Joey. Stay with Daddy.”

  “Okay.”

  Lisa ran like she’d never run before. Her sandals rubbed blisters. Half way across the field a strap snapped. She kicked off the shoe, taking time to discard the other one and began running again. The grass was cool against her feet, but she scarcely noticed.

  The field seemed miles long. Was the water rising? Had Sam regained consciousness? Please God, let them be all right, she chanted as she ran as fast as she could.

  There the fence came into view. Her breath was labored, and her legs burning, but she didn’t slow her pace at all.

  Slamming through it, she raced to the house.

  “Mom! Mom! Is Dad back? I need help.”

  “Lisa?” Margaret appeared at the back door, holding it wide for her. “Heavens, did you find him?”

  “Sam's hurt. He and Joey are in the arroyo and there’s water,” she gasped, leaning over to catch her breath. “We’ve got to get help to get them out. Oh, Mom, Sam hit his head. Joey said there’s blood.”

  “Run out front and blow on the horn. I told your father that would be our signal. I’ll call the emergency services.”

  “Mom, what’ll I do if Sam’s dead.”

  “It would take more than that to take Sam out.” Margaret looked at her searchingly.

  Lisa headed for the front, hoping her mother was right. “Tell them to hurry,” she said.

  She leaned on the horn for a long moment, then pounded it in short bursts. Neighbors came running from all direction. As soon as the first one was near, she explained.

  In less than five minutes, three men and two coils of rope were heading across the field. Lisa had only stopped to put on a pair of her mother’s shoes at her mother’s insistence before leading the way.

  She wanted to run, but one of the neighbors was too old for that. Settling for a quick pace she hurried back to the two she loved most in the world.

  When she reached the stable area near the cave in, she held her breath as she looked over. Joey sat beside Sam, and the water had risen until it almost touched Sam’s boots.

  “We’re back,” she called.

  Al Thompson quickly organized things. He himself went over the edge, tied firmly with one of the rope, and eased over by the three men who remained on top with Lisa. She wanted to go down, but they insisted she’d be more help on top when Joey came up.

  Once Al reached the surface with Joey in his arms, Lisa burst into tears and reached for her son. Squeezing him until he complained, she tried to absorb his very essence in to her body.

  “Sam?” She asked Al.

  “He’s still unconscious. Hope those paramedics arrive soon. The water’s rising.” He glanced toward the distant mountains. “Must be a humdinger of a storm. Don’t think we’ve had water here since the last of the spring rains.”

  “Joey can stay up here with the others. I need to go to Sam.” She said, placing her son on the ground, telling him to stay by Mr. Potter, a neighbor Joey knew.

  “Now Lisa, nothing you can do.”

  “I have to get to Sam!” She reached for the rope and tried to walk down the face of the bluff as Al had. She scraped one elbow when she banged into an outcropping. Skinned her knee against the abrasive dirt, but reached the bottom without a major mishap. She unfastened the rope and ran over to the man she loved.

  “Sam?” His hat was several yards away. His eyes were closed. She could see a small pool of blood beneath his head, and the rock he’d landed on.

  Hoping against hope that it wasn’t as serious as it looked, she took his hand in hers, searching for a pulse. It was strong and steady. Almost collapsing with relief, she cradled his hand against her breasts.

  “Sam, can you hear me? Wake up. You’re scaring me.”

  He remained motionless.

  “Sam? I love you.”

  He didn’t move.

  “I didn’t need that much time to decide. You’ve scared me. And made me realize how fleeting life can be. What if you died now? We would have wasted so much time. My fault. But a mistake I can remedy. I love you, Sam. Wake up, Please? Wake up and ask me again!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  THE PARAMEDICS ARRIVED without fanfare. Working in tandem, they lowered a stretcher, fixed guide ropes and soon had Sam at the top of the bluff.

  The water continued to rise, covering the bottom of the arroyo. It was cold and muddy, but Lisa didn’t even notice. She went up after Sam, worried because he still hadn’t regained consciousness. She fervently prayed as she scrambled to the top.

  The ambulance was already crossing the field when she reached level ground. Her father and mother were waiting with their car.

  “Come on, honey, the parame
dics said you and Joey were to come to the emergency room as well,” her father said.

  She felt dazed, but not hurt. Except....

  She looked down, her knee was scraped, and various bumps and bruises began to be felt. She’d never be able to wear this outfit to church again.

  “How’s Sam?”

  “Too early to tell,” her father said, ushering her into the back seat. Joey was already there, in his car seat.

  “Is Daddy better?” he asked forlornly.

  “He will be. We’ll go to the hospital now and check on him, okay?” she said, trying to keep the anguish from her tone. Sam had to be all right. She couldn’t imagine a world without him in it.

  Her mother looked back over the seat. “How are you?”

  “S-C-A-R-E-D,” she spelled, looking after the ambulance.

  “He’ll get the best attention at the hospital,” Margaret said.

  “I know. But what if--” She couldn’t say the words. Couldn’t even think them. And especially not in front of her son. She gripped her hands tightly together. Sam had to be all right. He had to be!

  * * *

  THE RIDE TO the hospital seemed endless, but in fact took less than ten minutes. Stopping near the emergency entrance, her father quickly parked and opened her door while her mother took care of Joey.

  The emergency room was bustling. One look at her and the nurses whisked her into a cubicle, Joey and Margaret right behind them.

  Quickly explaining what had happened, Lisa insisted they check Joey over first. He was the one who had tumbled all the way down with Sam.

  In no time, the doctor pronounced him fine. Lisa burst into tears. She hugged her son and only reluctantly releasing him to let her mother take him when the doctor wanted to examine her.

  “How is Sam Haller?” she asked as the nurse cleaned up the abrasions.

  “Came in right before you?”

  “Yes, he’s Joey’s father. Joey’s all right because Sam sheltered him somehow on the fall. He was unconscious for a long time. Has he regained consciousness?”

  “I’ll get someone to check,” the doctor offered, nodding at the nurse.

  By the time Lisa had her scraped knee bandaged and received a tetanus shot, the nurse returned. “Sam Haller's being admitted. He regained consciousness, but there is a slight concussion and we want to keep him over night for observations.”